Funeral cost help

treecol

Does anyone know of any help there may be with funeral costs apart from the social fund as we do not qualify?
I am executer of my dad's will & so the funeral director will bill me. I have not worked for 2.5 years whilst caring for him. I only claimed carers allowance & my savings have all but gone. Dad had none left after his care needs were met. Neither of us claimed any of the benefits which entitled us to social fund help. I cannot return to work as I am just about to start caring for my father in law, but even if I did claim income support it wouldn't cover this bill as it happened before any future claim I may make.
What on earth do I do? Has anyone had any experience? I have told the funeral directors, if we have no funeral & they take him to the crematorium alone, it would reduce the bill by £1000, but it would still be more than I can afford.

stevemLS

If the deceased had no estate and no relative is willing to pay for the funeral, the local authority or NHS (depending where he died) will pay for a "basic" funeral. It is the minimum required and you will not be allowed to add bells and whistles (otherwise you would be effectively saying you were prepared to take responsibility).

It is now known as a "welfare" funeral, formerly a paupers funeral.

[Deleted User]

OP ignore the above and google "funeral grants"the first link will tell you all you need to know

stevemLS

The availability of the funeral grant does not affect the validity of what I said previously.

According to information in OP, they are not eligible for a grant.

treecol

As I said, I don't qualify for the funeral grant. I cannot sell the house as I'm about to start caring for my father in law as his wife died the day after my dad. I realise it may be the only solution, but really not an option, so I guess I'm up the creek without a paddle. It's so frustrating having struggled as a carer for so long to wind up saddled with an unrepayable debt. I don't expect to get something for nothing, but after us living off our savings leaving nothing in the pot, it's .....well I won't go on a rant.

Torry_Quine

Just because you are the executor doesn't mean you have to pay for the funeral. It's the person who arranges the funeral who is responsible which may not be the executor.

DigForVictory

I'm sorry for your loss.

Talk to the funeral director. They'll know where grants can be sourced from, and where & how to reduce the costs. It's a rough situation & they are a business, but if you're prepared to see him away in simplicity likely the cost can be brough down a lot.

Painful though it is, there are other funeral directors - call and ask them?

xylophone

http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/community-and-life-events/deaths-funerals-and-cemeteries/welfare-funerals

Google "Welfare Funeral" under your own Local Authority?

Mojisola

treecol wrote: »

I only claimed carers allowance & my savings have all but gone. Dad had none left after his care needs were met. Neither of us claimed any of the benefits which entitled us to social fund help.

I cannot return to work as I am just about to start caring for my father in law, but even if I did claim income support it wouldn't cover this bill as it happened before any future claim I may make.

If your Dad owned the home he lived in, you wouldn't be able to get a Funeral Grant even if you had been getting one of the relevant benefits and I'm not sure that the council will arrange a funeral either.

Claim the benefits you're entitled to from now on. Why have you been spending your savings while doing such an important caring job?

specialboy

As executor you will have to settle any of your fathers debts from his estate, if there's no estate then the debts are dead but you mention the house which may need to be sold to pay them off.

Cheeky_Monkey

When you say that you cannot sell the house, whose house are you talking about - yours or your dad's?